"Bread and butter" - Oleksandr Usyk easily backing Tyson Fury to beat Francis Ngannou
Oleksandr Usyk believes Francis Ngannou is tailor-made for Tyson Fury.
'The Gypsy King' and 'The Predator' are slated to clash later this month in Saudi Arabia. For Ngannou, the boxing match will be the first of his combat sports career. To help aid with the transition, the former UFC champion has brought in the services of Mike Tyson as his coach.
For Fury, the bout is somewhat of a tune-up of sorts. In December, he's expected to face 'The Cat' in a historical heavyweight title unification bout. The championship contest will crown the weight classes' first undisputed titleholder since Lennox Lewis accomplished the feat over 20 years ago.
As of now, the only thing standing between Oleksandr Usyk vs. Tyson Fury is Francis Ngannou. For his part, the Ukrainian recently previewed his next opponent's fight on his YouTube channel.
There, Usyk stated that 'The Predator' might have fight-ending power, but he's unsure. However, stylistically, this fight should be a routine night at the office for Fury. Previewing the fight, Usyk stated:
"This bout is bread and butter for Tyson Fury. This is my attitude with regard to boxing, and when someone's saying that Ngannou can drop him, I probably would agree. But, I'm really not certain. Tell me, how can the guy with no experience in boxing beat a 2-meter giant who's been boxing for 20 years? Yes Ngannou is a UFC champion, I'm not disputing it. But UFC isn't boxing."
See his comments in the video below (8:55):
Oleksandr Usyk reveals plans to attend Fury/Ngannou
Oleksandr Usyk will likely get his second chance to face-off with Tyson Fury later this month.
Last December, 'The Cat' attended the British boxer's trilogy with Derek Chisora. That night, Fury scored a knockout win over 'Del Boy', and then had a heated face-off with Usyk.
That was supposed to tease a heavyweight title clash between the two champions. However, as many fans know, talks continued too far longer than most expected and saw Fury even take a bout with Francis Ngannou in the meantime.
However, the deal is now done, and Oleksandr Usyk will be in person to watch Tyson Fury's next fight. Speaking on his YouTube channel, the Ukrainian stated that it would be fun to see the crossover bout, as it's not like normal boxing.
He stated:
"Yes, I'm going to be there, I want to see the bout. The promotion is impressive, and it's understood because this is the show that [many] people are waiting for. But for professional boxer, it's something totally different."